


A Shrine of the Times

by stars_for_blood14



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), im so sorry thats the title i had no ideas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23234902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars_for_blood14/pseuds/stars_for_blood14
Summary: Wild lets it slip that he used Shrines to train, so of course Wind absolutely has to see what one looks like.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 395





	A Shrine of the Times

“Are we almost there?” Wind said, practically bouncing as he walked alongside Wild. Despite his constant complaints about being treated like a child, he tended to act rather childish. 

“Should be just up this hill,” Wild replied, glancing down at the slate in his hand as he walked. 

He and Wind took the lead, Time and Twilight following behind. 

Wild had made the mistake of letting Wind know about the training shrines littered across his Hyrule, leading to the young hero insisting he be shown one the second they appeared in Wild’s time. At first Wild seemed a bit hesitant, but after enough pleading from Wind, he agreed, though only under the condition that anyone who came had to do exactly as he said once they were inside. Almost everyone in the group had jumped on the opportunity to join, but after some comments from Wild about bottomless pits and lava-filled hallways, it had thinned down to just Wind and the two others. 

The path they were walking on was bordered by cracked stone columns and walls, jutting out of the grass and rocks around them. 

“I’d been through almost all of them before meeting up with you all, so it’s pretty lucky there was an unopened one so close by,” Wild said, looking up the road at the glowing structure.

“What’d you think is inside? Do we get to fight monsters? Use magic?” Wind peeked over his arms at the slate Wild was holding, the glowing pictures and words still incomprehensible. 

“It’s usually some sort of puzzle, or game, like finding a hidden key or switch.” He might have embellished just a bit when he first told the others about the shrines. It’s not like he thought anyone would actually be interested in seeing them. Wild stopped, looking up at the shrine about 50 feet away. 

“I found this one a while ago actually, just never found the right time to go inside.” 

Wind glanced over at him, a silent queue that this was most definitely the time for it, but Wild didn’t move, just stared ahead. 

“Wild?”

He blinked and shook his head, looking just a bit like Twilight and his wolfish mannerisms before stepping forward. “Sorry, it’s just …” He fiddled with the slate in his hands as he walked. “Me and Zelda got in an argument here once, I think.”

Twilight glanced over at his young protege as he spoke, unable to miss the worry lines across his face. 

“I got distracted thinking about it when I was first here and forgot to ever go into the shrine.” He stopped at the front of the pedestal the shrine was seated on. It was a fairly large structure, covered in glowing runes and made of dull brown metal. There was a small alcove in the center, sealed with interlocking bars.

“Okay, so ground rules.” 

Wild glanced over at Time and Twilight before continuing. Even though it was his world, it still felt odd giving orders to them.

“It’ll probably be some kind of puzzle, just stay with me as I work it out. I’ll let you know if I need any help and what to do. Don’t touch anything unless I tell you to.” He gave a pointed glance at Wind as he said the last sentence. “I’m not sure how it’ll go with there being more than one of us, so if anything gets weird and I say we have to leave, we leave. Sound good?”

The three nodded, following Wild as he stepped onto the pedestal and towards the entrance. Wild pressed the Sheikah slate to a small column near the door, the runes decorating the structure flashed blue, and the metal bars covering the alcove pushed in. They revealed a short hallway ending in a circular glowing platform. 

Wild removed his slate from the column and glanced back at the rest of the group. Wind looked the most excited out of the three, his face set in a wide grin, whereas Twilight just watched with a soft smile and Time looked as neutral as ever. Wild ushered them all onto the small platform at the end of the hall. He gave a silent thank to the goddess that the others had stayed behind, the four of them barely fitting with Time and Twilights many layers. The platform lit up blue and then began to descend. Wild couldn’t help but smile at the soft gasp Wind gave. The descent continued for only a few seconds before they stepped out at the bottom. 

They were in a large hallway, leading into a bigger room with a large square void in the center, stone pillars standing in a circle around it. At the other end of the room was another doorway with bars covering it, barely visible from where they were standing. They each stepped off the platform, Twilight rubbing his shoulder where Times armor had been poking. 

Wild heard a familiar voice poking at the edge of his mind, and from the looks on the faces of the others, they could hear it too. 

_ To you who sets foot in this shrine … I am Tena Ko’sah. In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I offer this combat trial. _

“Combat?” Twilight said, glancing over at Wild. “Is that normal?”

He was already busy poking at his Sheikah slate, a blue glow settling over his body and hands as weapons and gear began to appear. “No, I mean I’ve had to go through them before but it’s usually puzzles. Something with magnets or bombs or whatever…” His voice trailed off, all his attention directed toward the slate in his hands.

“Do we need to leave? Will this be dangerous?” Time said, receiving a glare from Wind in response. Time worrying meant that their adventure could be cut short.

Wild looked over at him, finished getting ready for whatever was waiting in the chamber ahead. He was wearing old looking armor made of a dull brown metal that matched the shrine encasing them and a golden circlet on his head. A glowing blue sword and shield materialized in his hands that looked like they were made out of light.

“I … I don’t think so no.” He glanced down the hallway towards the larger room. “If you could … Would you be willing to let me handle this and you all could just watch? I can find a more exciting one for us later.”

The question was mostly directed at Wind, but he looked at Time as he said it.

“I don’t see any problem with that,” said Time.

“I don’t care as long as I get to see it,” said Wind, sounding slightly more excited by the prospect of a fight. “What’s gonna happen?”

“I’ll probably have to fight a guardian, a harder one too going by the look of the room,” Wild replied.

Twilight glanced at the burns along the left side of Wild’s face. It was hard not to feel just a bit worried, especially with the heavy gear he had chosen.

“If you think it’s safe, then I trust you.” He said, despite the fact that it wasn’t quite how he felt. 

“Okay.” Wild nodded and started to walk down the hallway, the others trailing behind. He stopped right at the entrance to the next room. “Stay here.”

He paused for a moment and glanced over the group, before turning and running towards the center of the room. Twilight opened his mouth to yell at Wild to  _ stop before he runs straight into the giant hole  _ but was cut off by a series of metal poles slamming down in front of them, sealing off the entrance, and the sound of something rising out of the ground. Wild didn’t slow, instead, he started to run faster. A large stone square had risen out of the hole in the center of the room, a guardian standing in its center.

The small guardian didn’t look like ones they had seen littered throughout the fields of Wild’s Hyrule. Compared to the towering 6 legged creatures, it looked practically diminutive, that is until the head started to rise, its neck stretching upwards and three metal arms folding out of it. If the ones discarded in the plains were meant for destruction, this one was hardwired for combat. Despite its bulky frame, the thing could move damn fast. It was switching between two weapons and a shield, spinning its body and head to meet nearly every attack Wild sent. 

None of them considered Wild a bad fighter. He was quick, strong, and had an unmatchable talent with a bow. He was just never at the front of their fights. Even when they were surrounded by hoards of creatures, stuck in frantic desperate battles, he would always linger behind, shadowing one of the others as they fought, copying their strikes, or trying his best to help them. Time had mentioned once, off-hand as he and Twilight were walking, that it almost seemed like he was still trying to learn, trying to piece together what he was supposed to do, where he fit in.

It was different once they arrived in Wild’s Hyrule. He didn’t say anything to the others, just slowly moved to the front of the group. He was the first to call out warnings before an ambush, first to spot bokoblin camps along the road, and more often than not, first to down an enemy once the fighting started. They were on his home turf, the place where he earned his name.

Twilight watched as he dodged another of the guardian’s attacks, this time the blade just barely grazing his cheek. The second the robot slowed, its arms swirling into a new position, Wild rushed forward, swinging his blade against the dull metal of its body. Surprisingly, the blue light weapon managed to make a few solid gauges, exposing strips of the guardian’s inner workings.

The guardian lept back, arms spread wide, and frozen. It was a near-perfect opportunity to attack, so it was surprising when Wild turned and sprinted full speed away from it. He ducked behind one of the stone columns circling the room, peaking out to watch the unmoving guardian. The action practically screamed cowardice, that is until the guardian started  _ spinning. _

Arms outstretched, it spiraled towards the column Wild was hiding behind. The column shattered the second it made contact, sending dust and debris across the room. For a second, the others couldn’t see anything, only a glow of blue from inside the cloud of dirt. When it cleared, Wild was sitting on top of the guardian, swinging wildly at its head with the glowing blue sword. He didn’t seem phased when it shattered against the hard metal, another materializing in his hand just a few seconds and tap on the Sheikah slate later. 

He jumped off the machine and away, a few seconds later the head lowered itself back down, and began to rotate. A small blue laser came from its eye, tracing the ground as it spun. The air around it spun with it, picking up the remains of the stone pillar. Wild raced forward from where he was across the room and jumped. His glider was caught in the spinning air, sending him flying straight towards the guardian. He released the glider just a few feet above its head. He drew his bow, for a moment looking like he was frozen in mid-air, before releasing the string, a volley of arrows flying straight for the guardians eye. 

The second the arrows stopped, Wild fell, landing right in front of the guardian, and its still spinning laser. Twilight winced as the laser grazed Wilds arm, sending the boy flying back a good 5 feet. If he didn’t know better, the guardian almost looked angry. Its head rose back up, arms reappearing from inside the metal neck. 

Wild had already picked himself up from the ground and was readying his bow. The guardian charged forward, Wild letting out another set of arrows as it did. These weren’t as precise as the last, bouncing off the heavy army and leaving scratches. When it was just a few feet away he grabbed his sword, running straight at it and leaping onto the creature's head. His legs were locked around its neck, meaning no matter how much it thrashed he wouldn’t fall. The guardian swung at where he had been just moments before, and Wild took the momentary distraction to jam his sword straight into the glowing eye.

The guardian stuttered, its arms and legs flailing to try and throw him off. Wild released his grip around its neck, jumping off and leaving his sword lodged in its eye. A bright blue light began to come from it, light pouring out of the gashes he had made earlier. The machine attempted to move towards Wild, before collapsing, its legs giving out underneath it. The light grew, joined by smoke rising from within the machinery. Wild raised his shield just a few seconds before the guardian exploded, sending bits of metal across the room. The gate blocking the others from entry rose, as did the gate at the other end of the room.

Wind was the first to move, running across the room to Wild. 

“That was amazing! You have to find another one so I can try next time!”

“Maybe,” Wild said, smiling as he picked up stray pieces of the guardian.

“Not bad cub,” Twilight said, Time standing silent beside him. 

Wild shoved a handful of gears into his pouch and tapped his Sheikah slate. The heavy armor disappeared, replaced by his familiar tunic and hood. “There’s one more room after this and then we can head back to the others.” 

Time didn’t miss how he looked at him and Twilight as he spoke. Time gave a small nod, and Wild led them to the back of the room and through a small doorway. 

The chamber was smaller than the one they had come from, filled almost entirely by a large case in its center and a stairway leading up to it. Sitting inside the case was the skeleton of a Sheikah Monk with his hands held up in the shape of a triangle. Wild walked up the stairs to a platform in front of the case, while the others waited at the base of the steps. The platform was small, the monks probably didn’t plan on there being multiple heroes when they built the shrine.

The case the monk was seated in was surrounded by a soft blue light that formed a wall around him. It had the same look as Wilds weapons, light and shimmering, and yet surprisingly strong. Wild pressed his hand into a Sheikah eye symbol in the center of the wall and it fractured, sending fragments of light across the room. Wind reached up to grab one as they passed, the light disappearing as he touched it. 

_ Your triumph over the test of strength subverts a prophecy of ruin. From the ashes of Hyrule, a hero rises. _

_ In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I bestow upon you this Spirit Orb. _

The others watched as a sphere of light floated out from the monk, moving towards Wild, before sinking into his chest. The scrapes from his earlier flight disappeared as it did, as though they had never been there to begin with. Wild gave a small breath, his hand reaching up to grab at his chest where the sphere had disappeared. 

_ May the Goddess smile upon you. _

The monk started to crumble, their skin flaking off into chips of light. Within a few seconds, they were gone, the case left empty. Wild was frozen on the platform, staring at the space where the monk had been.

“Wild?” Twilight said, taking a step towards the hero.

“Huh?” He looked back at them, as though he had forgotten they were there. “Oh right, sorry.” He blinked a few times and stepped down off the platform to join them.

“That’s all there is really. Sorry it wasn’t more exciting.” He gave a nervous chuckle.

“Are you kidding?” Wind said a wide smile stretched across his face. “That was so cool! You said there was more right? Could we go again?”

Time glanced over at the younger, a silent reminder that  _ Wild is being very nice by doing this for us and we shouldn’t overstay our welcome _ . 

Wild just smiled.

“Maybe later, I’m exhausted.” He made a small show of stretching his arms and neck. “You guys are lucky, I did all the work for you.”

He walked between the others and started to head back across the room.

“Ah, come on Wild, you said they weren’t all fighting right? We could do a puzzle one next.” Wind ran forward to keep step alongside the older.

Wild was quiet for a moment, his hand still absently pressing at his chest. “Tell you what, if we head back to camp now, I can use some of my personal stock to make you a cake instead of doing another shrine. Fair trade?”

The smile on Winds face was answer enough.

**Author's Note:**

> The shrine battle and description isn't *quite* accurate to how they actually go, but I tried my best to keep it accurate while also somewhat interesting ^-^ Hope you enjoyed it!


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